When I was growing up, family vacations were spent at a cabin w/ no television and limited radio reception. We spent our evenings/down time talking, reading, or playing cards and board games w/ our parents, grandparents, and cousins.
With the exception of football playoffs and the Superbowl, no television was allowed when there were guests over.
Occassionally, if we rented a family movie it was allowed for us to eat dinner in front of the TV, but still as a family.
During car trips we were entertained by travel versions of games, books on tape, and car games. Plane flights involved card games and quiet versions of car games.
Now it seems that the TV is everywhere - people want them in their kitchens, bathrooms, holiday bunkrooms need to have internet access and cable, and cars and boats have dvd players to entertain the kids when they are on the move.